Columbus region home sales highest – ever!

Posted on by Jim Reitano

Central Ohio Housing Report – Aug 2013colsrealtors

9/19/2013

Columbus region home sales highest – ever!

Central Ohio home sales hit a new apex this summer and now stand at their highest point on record. The 18,834 homes sold as of Aug. 31 were 22.9 percent higher than the number of homes sold January through August of 2012 and further exceed any previous year. Homes sold during the month of August alone were 2,729, 11.1 percent higher than last year and another record high for sales during the month of August according to Columbus REALTORS®.

“Although we’ve seen positive gains all year, home sales over the summer were off the charts,” said Chris Pedon, 2013 president of Columbus REALTORS®. “There was only one summer – back in 2005 at the height of the housing boom – when we came close to seeing the volume of homes sold this year.”

School systems noticed the sales bump as enrollment increased for many. In addition to the City of Columbus, other school systems with high sales numbers in August included South-Western, Olentangy, Hilliard, Westerville, Dublin and Worthington. Although not necessarily in the top ten for numbers of sales, Washington Court House, Granville, West Jefferson, Northridge, London and Gahanna Jefferson school districts saw notable sales gains compared to August of 2012.

Having passed the peak of the summer sales season, pending home sales have started to decelerate. The 3,253 homes in contract as of Aug. 31 were 7.5 percent lower than July, but were still 9.2 percent higher than pending sales in August 2012.

The number of homes for sale in the Columbus area rose from 10,544 in July to 10,629 in August. This compares to 11,571 homes on the market last year.

According to the latest Housing Market Confidence Index (by the Ohio Association of REALTORS®), over half of the REALTORS® surveyed said their buyers were having difficulty finding the right property.

“Although inventory has been rising all year, evidently it’s still not enough to meet today’s demand,” adds Pedon. “Homeowners who’ve considered making a move should think about selling now – while the demand is still high.”

Columbus REALTORS® is comprised of over 6,000 real estate professionals engaged in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, appraisal, consultation, real estate syndication, land development and more.

The Columbus REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) serves all of Franklin, Delaware, Fayette, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union Counties and parts of Athens, Champaign, Clark, Clinton, Fairfield, Hocking, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, Perry and Ross Counties.

The monthly housing reports can be found at www.ColumbusRealtors.com/stats. The reports include breakouts for 18 central Ohio counties and 53 local municipalities and school districts. Buckeye Valley Schools was added to the reports in February 2013.

For more information about the central Ohio housing market, visit www.ColumbusRealtors.com/stats.

To view commercial properties for sale or lease in central Ohio, visit www.COCIE.org.
To view residential properties for sale, visit www.Realtor.com.